London Summer Abroad

Admissions, Fees and Deadlines

Admission and Course Credit

Southwestern is approved by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. The ABA has approved the International Entertainment and Media Law Summer Program in London. Most applicants must be students in good standing at an American or Canadian law school. Applicants with sufficient English proficiency from law schools in European Union and other countries will also be considered for admission. Prior to the start of the summer program, each student must have completed the first year of law study and must submit a transcript and a letter of good standing from his/her home institution. If applications are received from more students than the program can accommodate, the academic performance of applicants (as shown by their transcripts) may be considered in deciding which applicant will be accepted.

Students may register for two courses, for a maximum total of six semester units of credit. Any requests for class change must be made in writing to the Biederman Institute. Each professor will administer a written final exam and assign grades. Grades will conform to Southwestern's grading policies. Southwestern utilizes an alpha grading system in which the actual grade earned is represented by an alphabetical letter. Grades range from A+ (4.33) to F (0.00). No unit credit will be granted if the grade received is an F. Additional information can be found in Southwestern's Student Handbook, which will be sent to all applicants and is also available upon written request. Students are advised to consult their home institution policies concerning the transfer of credit for coursework.

Southwestern will send a transcript to the student's home institution following completion of the program and final payment of all tuition and fees. Acceptance of transfer credit is subject to determination by the student's home institution. Students should be aware that participation in a summer program is unlikely to accelerate their graduation date; students interested in acceleration should consult their home institution.

NOTE: Acceptances to the program will be offered to applicants on a rolling basis, beginning February

1. Applications will be accepted until maximum enrollment is reached. Enrollment in each course is limited due to classroom size, so early application is strongly encouraged.

A reservation fee of $750 will be due immediately after acceptance. Until the reservation fee is received, the student's spot in the program will not be reserved and may be offered to another applicant.

Deadlines

Travel and Living Accommodations

Students will be responsible for their own travel arrangements to and from London. Housing information for the Summer 2018 program will be posted soon.

State Department Travel Information

For information about traveling to and within the United Kingdom, visit the United States Department of State website for information about traveling to and within the United Kingdom. If, prior to the commencement of the program, a U.S. State Department Travel Warning or Alert is issued for the country(ies) in which the program will be conducted, all registrants will be notified promptly of the warning and be given an opportunity to withdraw from the program. If, during the course of the program, a U.S. State Department Travel Warning or Alert is issued for the country(ies) in which the program is being conducted, students will be notified promptly of the warning and given an opportunity to withdraw from the program. In the event that students withdraw from the program as permitted in these criteria during the course of the program, or if the program is terminated, students will be refunded fees paid except for room and board payments utilized prior to the date of withdrawal or termination.

Liability and Insurance

Southwestern will not be responsible for personal injuries to students, medical conditions, or for loss or damage to personal property within or in transit to London. Southwestern requires students to obtain health insurance that covers or reimburses for health care abroad, and requires the plan to cover medical evacuation and repatriation.

Cancellation and Refund Policy

Cancellation Policy

Southwestern reserves the right to change or cancel the London Summer Program at any time prior to May 1. Southwestern also reserves the right to cancel any course due to insufficient enrollment. Cancellation of the program or any course at a later date will occur only if necessary for reasons beyond Southwestern's control. For cancellation that occurs after a deposit has been paid, the program director will use his best efforts to make arrangements for each student enrolled to attend a similar program, if the student so desires, and all money advanced by the student shall be refunded within twenty (20) days after the date of cancellation. Students who have paid a deposit or registered for the program also have the opportunity to withdraw from the program if there are changes in the course offerings or other significant aspects of the program and receive a refund of fees paid except for room and board payments, with the exception of room and board payments utilized prior to the date of withdrawal. In the event of cancellation, students will immediately be notified by email, phone and U.S. mail. This program has not been cancelled in prior years.

Tuition Refund Policy

Students who withdraw from the program or request a class change must notify the Director of the London Summer Program in writing as early as possible. Students who withdraw before the first day of the summer program may receive a 100% credit of charged tuition, with the exception of the non-refundable application fee and registration deposit. Thereafter, refund for tuition is prorated on a daily basis. After 60% of the program is completed, there is no refund. Program housing fees will not be refunded after May 1.

Students who withdraw from the program prior to the commencement of the program due to a course cancellation, significant change, or the cancellation of the program, including cancellation because of a U.S. State Department travel warning or alert, will be refunded all monies advanced within twenty (20) days after the cancellation or withdrawal.

Students who withdraw from the program during the course of the program due to a course cancellation, significant change, or termination of the program, including termination because of a U.S. State Department travel warning or alert, will be refunded fees paid except for room and board payments utilized prior to the date of termination or withdrawal.

For law students looking for a deeper global perspective, Southwestern offers a study abroad program in London.

Faculty

International Entertainment Law

Professor Mary LaFrance

Mary LaFrance joined the faculty of the William S. Boyd School of Law in 1999. She received her J.D. with High Honors from the Duke University School of Law in 1986, where she served as Executive Editor of the Duke Law Journal. She also received her M.A. in Philosophy from the Duke University School of Graduate Studies in 1986. After clerking for Judge Harry T. Edwards of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Professor LaFrance practiced for three years with the Washington, D.C. office of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. In 1990, Professor LaFrance joined the faculty at the Florida State University College of Law, where she taught intellectual property, taxation, and entertainment law, and also served on the faculty of the Florida State University School of Motion Pictures, Television, and Recording Arts. Professor LaFrance has authored three books: Intellectual Property Cases and Materials (with David Lange and Gary Myers), Understanding Trademark Law, and Copyright in a Nutshell. Her articles have been published in numerous law reviews, including the Southern California Law Review, the Vanderbilt Law Review, the Emory Law Journal, the Santa Clara Computer and High Technology Law Journal, the Journal of Intellectual Property Law, and the Virginia Tax Review. From 2001-2004, she served as the law school’s Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Professor LaFrance’s teaching and research interests include domestic and international intellectual property law, as well as the taxation of intellectual property.

Professor Geoffrey Scott

Professor Scott has a wide range of teaching and scholarly interests, but his focus is in intellectual property and on the intersection of the worlds of artistic and scientific expression and the law. He has given particular attention to the protection of cultural properties in both Europe and Asia, to domestic and international entertainment issues with an emphasis on music, and to the representation of the individual professional athlete. He received a Fulbright Scholar award in 2004-2005 for his research in the protection of cultural and ethnographic properties in Asia, and he has been a visiting professor and scholar at the University of Delaware Graduate College of Marine Studies in the fields of biotechnology and intellectual property law. Professor Scott has taught courses and given lectures in London and other European capitals as well as Kyoto, Beijing, and Seoul. He is the founder and supervisor of the Penn State Arts, Sports, and Entertainment Law Clinic.

International Art Law

Professor Henry Lydiate

Professor Henry Lydiate is a Barrister who has specialized in the law relating to visual art and design for over 25 years. He conducted a two-year research project into the legal needs of visual artists in the U.K. in the 1970’s. This led to his establishment of Artlaw Services, a free legal advice, education and training service for the art community which he served as chair, legal adviser and trainer/educator until 1984. Professor Lydiate writes a regular Artlaw column published in Art Monthly since its first issue in 1976, and his collected articles are published by Artquest at www.artquest.org.uk/artlaw. Currently a consultant specializing in visual art and design, Professor Lydiate now teaches the M.A. Arts Management course at the Ashcroft International Business School in Cambridge and the M.A. Arts Policy and Management course at Birkbeck College, University of London, and is Visiting Professor of Artlaw at the University of the Arts, London. He received his Bachelor of Laws, LLB, from University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK, 1969; Barrister, Inns of Court, UK, 1974 Pupilmaster, Inns of Court, UK, 1990.

Negotiating & Drafting International Entertainment Contracts

International Sports Law

Alfred Mathewson joined the UNM law faculty in 1983 after working as a corporate, securities and banking lawyer in Denver. He was named the Director of the Africana Studies Program in 2013 after having served as Acting or Interim Director since 2009. From 1997 through 2002, he was Associate Dean of Academics. In that position, he oversaw the curriculum, clinical law program, faculty appointments, the faculty promotion and tenure process, library, faculty development and related issues.

Mathewson’s teaching and research focuses on antitrust law, business planning, sports law, minority business enterprises and corporate governance. He frequently supervises in the Business and Tax law Clinic and has served occasionally as Acting Director of the Clinical Law Program during the summer. He recently added Transactional Negotiations to his teaching portfolio. He has published numerous articles and given speeches in these areas and he brings this expertise to his teaching.

He is a member of the American Bar Association and the American Law Institute. He has served on several ABA accreditation inspection teams. He is a member of the AALS Section on Law and Sports Law, of which he has previously served as chair. He currently is serving another stint as chair of the UNM Athletic Council. He serves as the faculty adviser of the UNM Chapter of the Black Law Students Association.

He is active in various community organizations, including the Albuquerque Council on International Visitors. He has served as the president of the New Mexico Black Lawyers Association and the Sam Cary Bar Association (Denver).

His recent publications include The Bowl Championship Series, Conference Realignment and the Major College Football Oligopoly: Revolution Not Reform, 1 Miss. Sports L. Rev. and Remediating Discrimination Against African American Females at the Intersection of Title IX and Title VI, 2 Wake Forest J. L. & Policy. He presented “Times Have Changed: A New Bargain for Sharing the Revenue Stream in Intercollegiate Athletics with Student Athletes,” a paper prepared for the panel at AALS 2014 Annual Meeting Section on Law and Sports program entitled, “O’Bannon v. NCAA: Is There An Unprecedented Change To Intercollegiate Sports Just Over The Horizon?”

Terms

Southwestern Law School is approved by the American Bar Association (Council of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar of the American Bar Association, 321 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654, 312-988-6738) and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools.